Management column: making our logistics more sustainable

In this series of columns, we give the floor to directors and managers of Royal FloraHolland: OPS SC&LM Manager Marc Goudzwaard about making our logistics more sustainable.

I had been employed for less than three months when Royal FloraHolland decided to join the Euro Plant Tray cooperative. A cooperative joining a cooperative is typical of the floriculture sector. I see on a daily basis how strong cooperation determines the success of the sector. This is true in many areas and certainly in logistics, the department I manage. Our flower buckets can be found in markets and florists all over Europe. How special it is that buckets, flower boxes and plant trays are matched to trolleys and CC containers down to the last centimetre. The standard this sets contributes to efficiency throughout the chain. Growers, buyers, transporters and us all benefit.
Customised logistics
Customised logistics are part of our strategy, along with simplified dealmaking and smart business. As a sector and as a cooperative, we are at the heart of society. We want to create value and ensure that we do so in a sustainable way through our services. With the lowest possible CO2 emissions and a circular approach to raw materials and waste. Consumers are increasingly demanding sustainable solutions, legislation is becoming more stringent and the retail sector is responding. So it is not just the grower who is affected, but the whole chain. We are constantly raising the bar for ourselves and the industry. Central to our initiatives in the area of logistics means is making the use of packaging in the chain more sustainable and promoting reusable packaging. Much of our transport packaging is reusable. They are fully recyclable and contain a high percentage of recycled material. We have a sophisticated return and deposit system for our flower buckets. The same applies to some of our plant trays, including Floratino.
Efficient flower box
We do not opt for a one-size-fits-all approach, but look at specific applications. In close cooperation with various trading companies and suppliers, we have introduced a new, efficient, reusable flower box: Fc523. This 80cm box offers more than 25% loading advantage for direct shipments to England. The Fc523 is mainly intended for the UK retail chain, where flowers with shorter stems are placed in reusable boxes on pallets. The Fc523 reduces chain costs and CO2 emissions.
Reducing the use of plastic and cardboard
Reducing the use of plastic and cardboard is also one of the spearheads. Protective collars are mainly used for roses, because sometimes the flowers need to be protected. For roses 70 cm and longer, we have developed a top collar that is placed on a support frame. This already saves around 60% of cardboard compared to the high collars that users place directly on the bucket. To reduce the number of transactions, the buyer increasingly removes the collar immediately after receiving it. As a result, the collar does not go further down the chain. Here we still see opportunities for the next step in improvement: replacing this disposable cardboard collar with a low reusable collar on the Fc588 in the future. This innovation has the potential to save at least 100,000 kg of disposable cardboard per year.
Euro Plant Tray
Multi-use plant trays are of course our preferred choice for plastic reduction. Several attempts have been made over the past decade to market a reusable tray, but without much success. There is increasing political and social pressure to find a sustainable, reusable solution. The Euro Plant Tray initiative mentioned at the beginning of this column is an opportunity to work together to create a standardised European plant tray system. We are participating in order to use our expertise in the interests of our members. For the time being, we cannot do without disposable plant trays. The Normpack trays used in our marketplace consist of 90% recycled material, of which 50% is recycled used plant trays and 40% is recycled material from other streams. Recycling is therefore very important in the production of these plant trays. This is how we continue to invest in product sustainability within Normpack.